Healing, the Missing Moments
by kitcat12
Summary: This is a story detailing the missing moments from my story Healing. Warning, this story deals with rape. If you are triggered by that subject matter, please don't read.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. A bad day.

Disclaimer I don't own any of J.r.r. Tolkien's work.

It was evening of their first day of travel. Aimee was sitting on a rock, eating her bowl of soup. Bilbo sat down beside her. They ate in silence as the sky began to darken.

"I am sorry about your mugs," Aimee said, looking at him. Bilbo smiled at her.

"I'm the one who should be sorry" he said.

"I shouldn't have overreacted." They smiled at each other and hugged.

Aimee scowled as she tried to sleep.

She was used to sleeping on the ground from all the hikes and camping trips that she took. She wasn't used to the loud snoring that surrounded her.

Muttering some of her favorite Japanese swear words, she got up to find a quieter spot.

She found Thorin IN A secluded spot. She put her bed roll next to him and lay back down. She was quite happy to note that he didn't snore.

Waking up the next morning, she could tell that it was going to be a bad day by looking at the sausage on her plate. Pork was her least favorite food. She would have rather had a bowl of oatmeal with honey and raisons. It seemed that Thorin shared her views as he stormed over to her, glancing at the uneaten meat on her plate.

"Is our cooking not up to your standards?" He sneered at her.

"Pork doesn't sit well on my stomach." She said as a menstrual cramp hit her.

"Watt's wrong with you now?" Thorin snapped at her.

"I'm just starting to have my menstrual cycle."

"We leave in 10 minutes" said Thorin, handing her an apple.

"You will ride with Dwalin" said Thorin as they were getting ready to leave.

"I can't" said Aimee.

""Why not?" Thorin asked her coldly.

"I just can't. Please don't make me." Aimee whispered looking at the ground.

"You will ride with Dwalin" said Thorin in a tone that brooked no argument. Aimee had no choice but to obey.

She went through some algebra problems, trying to keep the panic at bay. She switched to anatomy around 10 o'clock and was relieved when they stopped for a quick lunch.

She concentrated on the landscape until they stopped at their next campsite.

"You are to make dinner." Thorin said as she got off the pony. Aimee frowned at the way he was speaking but she decided that now wouldn't be a good time to argue.

She found Oin and Gloin arguing over how to make the fire.

"Oh for Pete's sake!" she yelled, getting tired of the bickering.

"Just let me do it." Oin and Gloin gave her startled looks but did what they were told. They watched as she took a strange looking object from her purse and lit the fire with it. She gently blew on it to get it started.

"What is that?" Oin asked in amazement.

"It is called a lighter." Aimee answered her fellow healer.

"It has gas that makes the fire." Gloin scowled.

"I think that I prefer our method thank you very much." He said glaring at the object.

"Could you show me how to work one of those?" Oin asked, ignoring his brother. Aimee gave him the lighter.

"You see the wheel on the bottom?" Aimee asked the dwarf who nodded.

""You just turn it and it will create a flame that you can use." Oin did as he was told and was amazed to see the flame. He repeated the motion and it went out.

"That's amazing" he said, handing it back to her.

Aimee's dark mood returned as she began making hamburger patties out of the meat that was given to her. She was so deep in her thoughts about home that she was startled when the smell of burning meat and smoke reached her.

She gave a gasp of pain as her hand jerked and made contact with the hot pan.

Thorin pushed past her as he threw dirt on the fire. After the fire was out, he turned on her.

"You stupid girl!" he roared.

"Can't you do anything right?" Aimee reached for the pan so she could soak it but stopped at the look on Thorin's

face.

"Go, just go, you have done enough damage already by burning our dinner and nearly setting the place on fire."

"I don't know why I brought such a useless person such as yourself on this quest. You should have stayed in that hobbit hole. You are nothing but a burden."

Bilbo watched Aimee walk away and glared at the dwarf. An idea formed in the hobbit's mind as he walked over to Gandalf.

"You have a plan don't you?" The wizard asked.

"I was thinking that Thorin and Aimee could switch roles tomorrow." Gandalf smiled at him.

"You mean that Aimee could lead the company while Thorin gets to know what it is like to deal with the things that Aimee goes through." Gandalf stated, looking at the hobbit.

"Yes, I think that Thorin would learn some humility and Aimee would get a confidence boost." Bilbo said with a smile.

"I think that it is a wonderful idea. Let me talk to Thorin and you tell Aimee."

Bilbo found Aimee sitting by her bag, rubbing some paste on her burnt hand.

"I was thinking." Bilbo began as he sunk to the ground beside her.

"How would you like to switch roles with Thorin tomorrow?" he asked her.

"You want me to lead the company while Thorin gets to know what it's like to be me?" Bilbo smiled at her.

"I would love to. He'll know what it's like to be carted around on different horses for a change. I want him to get a taste of his own medicine."

"You want her to lead the company?" Thorin asked Gandalf who nodded at him.

"Very well. She will realize how easy she's got it. I shall tell my men of the arrangement."

Gandalf and Bilbo shared smiles when they met up. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.

A/n: This is the first chapter of a missing moments story from Healing. I hope you enjoy it. You will find out why she didn't want to ride with Dwalin in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2. A mile in my shoes.

Thorin woke up the next morning to find Aimee standing over him.

"I want you to start on breakfast." Thorin got to his feet, deciding to make porridge. He walked to the stream and filled a big pot with water. While it was boiling, he watched as Aimee got the rest of the company up and gave them their morning tasks.

He remembered to put in the oats just as the water began to over boil. When it was done. He served it into bowls and handed them out to the company. Aimee accepted her portion with a nod of thanks.

"I want you to help Bilbo wash the dishes when everyone is done eating." Aimee said to him. Thorin nodded and quickly ate his own serving. Aimee gave him her bowl and spoon to wash.

Thorin met Bilbo by the stream where he was beginning to wash the dishes. The dishes were quickly washed. They were about to pack them when Aimee stopped them.

"I need to have a look at those. I don't trust the cleanliness of dishes washed in a cold stream." Thorin glared at her.

"I suppose you never washed dishes in a cold stream before" he snapped.

"I used paper plates and plastic silver where on my camping trips. I didn't need to wash them. They were disposable." When her inspection was complete, she nodded and left.

The company was ready to leave a few minutes later.

"You will be riding with Gandalf" said Aimee.

"I will not be riding with anybody." Thorin replied glaring at her.

"I suggest you do as I say, since I am leader of this company for today." Thorin gave her a very cold look.

"Who will you be riding with?" he asked her.

"I will be riding your pony." Thorin's face burned with anger and humiliation as he was forced to mount the tall horse with help from the wizard. He hated being carted around on a horse like baggage in front of his men.

"You planned this didn't you?" Thorin asked, glaring at the wizard.

"No I did not." Thorin gave a grunt of disbelief at this.

"Mr. Baggins was the one who planned the whole thing. He wasn't pleased at your treatment of his friend. I just helped him a little bit." Gandalf's gaze traveled to the front where a smiling Bilbo was listening to Aimee tell him a story.

"Why did you have to bring the hobbit?" Thorin snapped as Bilbo's laughter reached them.

"He cannot fight and all he does is complain about the lack of food." Gandalf's eyes flashed and his voice turned cold.

"I have told you many times that there is more to Bilbo Baggins than meets the eye. He and Aimee may not possess the physical strength that dwarves have, but they have something far more important."

"What would that be?" Thorin asked giving him a doubtful look.

"I had a talk with Aimee this morning. She told me about the rape. During the trial, she begged the court to spare her rapist's life."

"Any man that rapes a woman should be put to death" Thorin said.

"She was a fool to do that." Gandalf gave him a hard look.

"No, you are the fool Thorin. She told me that she didn't want a man's death on her conscience. She had the courage to not let revenge cloud her judgment. She told the court that death would be taking the easy road. She wanted him to sit in that prison cell and think of his actions." The wizard's gaze traveled to the front where Aimee was talking to Balin.

"That took courage for her to spare his life when she could have very easily let him die."Gandalf sighed at Thorin's skeptical look.

"I hope that you won't ever have to make that decision, but if you do, I hope you will look back on this conversation and do the right thing. As for Bilbo, there is more to him than you realize."

Thorin was relieved when they stopped for the night.

"I want you and your nephews to look after the ponies." Aimee said as he was dismounting.

Thorin had first watch that night.

"You should be sleeping." Thorin said to Aimee as she sat beside him.

"I had a nightmare" said Aimee. Thorin looked at her.

"I would like to apologize to you for yesterday. I didn't treat you with the respect that you deserve and I should have.

"Thank you Thorin" said Aimee with a tired smile.

"I think that I will try and get some sleep now." The dwarf watched her as she left for her bed roll next to Bilbo. She turned and went back to him.

"The reason why I didn't want to ride with Dwalin is because of the tattoos. My rapist wore them." Thorin gave her a nod of understanding.

"I'll let you chose who to ride with from now on." He said to her.

Aimee smiled at him as she left for some sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 the forming of the group.

"Bilbo, I was thinking of forming an acappella singing group. Would you like to join?" It was evening on their third day of travel and they were eating dinner.

Bilbo looked up from his venison.

"I don't know if I have the voice for that." Bilbo said with a shy smile.

"You have a lovely voice," said Aimee looking at him.

"Well, if that is what you think, I'll join your group." Aimee smiled at the hobbit.

"Who else do you want to join?" Bilbo asked, swallowing his bite of meat.

"I was thinking of asking Thorin to join," said Aimee.

"I will not." Thorin's voice was cold. Bilbo frowned at the look on Aimee's face. It looked as if Thorin's words had crushed all her hopes and dreams.

"Why would that be?" Bilbo asked. Thorin glared at him.

"We are on a serious quest. This isn't the time for your silly little music group." Aimee's eyes filled with tears.

"I've always wanted to have a little singing group. It's been my dream since I was a girl and your voice fits what I am looking for." Thorin's voice grew menacing.

"You will just have to keep dreaming then" he spat.

"I will not be joining your group." Thorin stormed away for his watch for the night as Aimee buried her face into bilbo's shoulder and started crying.

Thorin scowled at Gandalf's approaching figure.

"I think that it would be wise if you reconsidered." Gandalf said, stopping beside the dwarf.

"I already informed them that I would not be joining their group"

"It wouldn't hurt you to at least give it a try." Thorin glared at the wizard.

"I said no and that is final," he said coldly.

The next day was cloudy as they set out. Aimee was riding with Balin and ignoring Thorin.

They stopped for a cheerless lunch of cold venison.

"I've done some thinking and I would like to join the group." Thorin said, sitting beside Aimee.

"I was rather unkind and I would like to apologize." Aimee smiled at the dwarf.

"Of course you can join the group. I'm going to go and tell Bilbo."

Balin smiled at Thorin as she ran off.

"I'm glad that you changed your mind" he said.

"It might be fun" said Thorin as he was getting ready to gather the company for the rest of the day's journey.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4. The horrors of fan fiction.

"What are you reading?" Bilbo asked Aimee the next day. She hurriedly shoved the paper out of site.

"Nothing" she answered, going red in the face.

"I would also like to know" said Thorin.

"You really don't want to know." This made Thorin and Bilbo even more curious. Aimee was horrified as Bilbo snatched the paper up and he and Thorin began to read.

When they were done, they traded disgusted looks.

"Who wrote this?" Thorin was breathing threw his nose.

"Oh I did," Aimee said. Bilbo choked on his pipe weed while Thorin gaped at her like a goldfish.

"You wrote?" Bilbo choked out, his face going a nasty shade of green.

Aimee nodded and began explaining about the books, movies, and fan fiction.

""And there is Fili/Kili, Dwalin/Ori, but Thilbo is the most popular pairing."

"Thilbo?" Thorin asked looking horrified.

"Thilbo Bagginshield" Aimee said.

Thorin took the paper from Bilbo's numb fingers, crushed it into a ball, and threw it into the campfire.

"What's wrong?" Balin asked as Thorin walked past him.

"You do not want to know." The dwarf replied.

He and Bilbo avoided each other for the rest of the night.

A/n" I just had to do it. Please, no hate mail from slash fans.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Elrond and Aimee

"How do you like Imladriss so far?" It was their first official day in Rivindell and Elrond was showing her around.

"It is quite lovely My Lord" said Aimee.

"I am not your lord; you don't have to address me as such." Aimee was relieved. She wasn't comfterble with formalities.

"Thanks, I feel kind of strange calling you that. Back home, friends don't call each other Lord and Lady, they just use their first names. In turn, you don't have to call me My Lady; you can just call me Aimee."

"Well in that case, you can call me Elrond." They made their way outside while Aimee told him about the history of America.

"You mean to tell me that black people were taken from their country to yours to be slaves?" Elrond asked, storm clouds gathering on his brow.

"Yes" said Aimee and went on to explain slavery, up to the Civil war and afterwards. She was telling him about segregation when the dinner bell rang.

"I am glad that things worked out for them." Elrond said as they entered the dining hall.

"You shouldn't get too friendly with the elf." Gloin said through a mouthful of meat.

"They aren't trust worthy." Aimee took a sip of wine and gave him a cold look.

"I can be friends with whomever I choose to be. That elf you speak of is giving us food and hospitality. Besides, he is one of my friends and I don't appreciate you talking about him behind his back."

"He is quite right," said Dwalin.

"You don't want to become one of them." Aimee looked behind her and exchanged a smile with Elrond.

"That's silly; I couldn't become an elf if I tried. I would hate to be immortal."

"Your fratanising with the enemy." Dwalin said, ignoring her last statement. Aimee leapt to her feet at this, glaring at the dwarf.

"The only one who I see acting like the enemy is you!" Aimee felt Elrond's hand on her shoulder.

"Lord Elrond has done everything in his power to make your stay as comfterble as possible. Instead of thanking him, you and the rest of the dwarves have done nothing but gripe and complain about the smallest of things. You have also insulted my character by questioning the company that I keep when it should be none of your concern."

"Why don't you come join me" Elrond whispered, still holding her by the shoulder.

Dwalin and Gloin glared at them as they walked to the high table.

Elrond pulled the chair that was next to him, out for her and she sat down gratefully. She unfortunately had to indur Thorin's glare from across from her.

"Would you care for some wine?" Elrond asked her, reaching for the bottle.

"I'd love some." He poured her a glass and passed it to her. When the meal was over, Elrond stood.

"Would you like to join me in the hall of fire?" He asked Aimee as she drained her goblet.

"Yeah I would" she said.

"I want to thank you for defending my honor" said Elrond as elvan voices sang around them.

"Oh it was nothing" said Aimee with a smile.

"I appreciated the gesture." Elrond said with a smile of his own.

"I was glad to do it."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 A Tale of Balin and Aimee

Balin stared into the flames, waiting for the search party to find Aimee. Tears streamed down his face as his thoughts turned toward her, not knowing that she was doing the same thing. He was really missing their easy friendship. His mind flashed back to the many whispered conversations around the fire. She would sleep next to him if he wasn't on watch. They woke up at five each morning and Aimee would make them each a mug of hot chocolate.

"If a tree fell in the forest and nobody was around to hear it, would it make a sound?" Aimee asked one morning.

"Of course it would" said Balin.

"What kind of question is that?"

"How would you know?" Aimee asked.

"You wouldn't be around to hear it."

"Everything has a sound" said Balin.

"That's what they want you to think" Aimee whispered.

"Sound could be an illusion created in our heads. In fact, life could be an illusion." Balin was smiling at her now.

." They were silent for a few minutes.

"Witch came first? The chicken or the egg?" Aimee asked.

"That's simple" Balin said with a grin.

"The egg came first."

"No, the chicken came first" said Aimee.

"What's your thinking behind that?" Balin asked. Aimee smiled at the dwarf.

"Well, when a boy chicken and a girl chicken love each other very very much, the boy chicken puts his-"

"I know about reproduction thank you very much." Balin said, spitting out his drink.

"Then it should be obvious which came first." They sent each other mock glares and began a whispered argument on the subject.

Balin was brought to the present as Thorin and Aimee entered the room. The three of them ate their meal in silence.

Balin listened as Aimee explained her avoiding him. He was ready to cry at the fear in her eyes.

"I'll leave you two alone" said Thorin when the meeting was over.

Neither of them could stand the separation and silence any longer. They held on to each other as their tears fell.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Aimee asked a few minutes later.

"I'd love to" said Balin. They held hands as they made their way from the hall of fire to the gardens.

"What is the sound of one hand clapping?" Aimee asked.

"Nothing, it doesn't make a sound" said Balin.

"You ask some strange questions." They laughed together as they walked outside.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 democracy

It was the morning after Aimee and Thorin switched roles. Aimee was riding with Oin. She was telling him about how her government was run.

"So every 4 or 8 years, you get to decide who your next leader is?" Oin asked looking quite interested.

"Yes pretty much. Said Aimee, beginning an explanation on the branches of government.

"Did your country just have an election?" asked Balin.

"Yes, and I am quite glad that it was over" said Aimee.

Gandalf and Thorin began arguing when they got to their campsite. Gandalf wanted to move on but Thorin argued that it would be best to stay.

"I've had enough of the stubbornness of dwarves for one day" said Gandalf, beginning to leave.

'Wait" said Aimee catching him by the arm.

"This is the perfect time to demonstrate democracy."

"Very well" said Thorin.

"The deciding vote will tell us our next move." Bilbo and the dwarves nodded their agreement.

Ori found 13 pieces of paper and handed them to the group.

"I want all of you to write down the name of the person that you think was right. I will count the votes and the winning vote will decide. Think carefully of your decision."It took a bit for everyone to write their vote. The votes began piling up in front of her. Bilbo was the last to hand her his paper.

"All right let's see what you all decided" said Aimee. She picked up the first piece of paper.

"1 vote for Thorin, 2 votes for Thorin, 1 vote for Gandalf." She counted the votes until there was only 1 left.

"This last vote will be the deciding one. It is currently tied." She picked up the paper and read the name that was written.

"Seven votes for Thorin and six votes for Gandalf. The majority has spoken; we will camp here for the night." Gandalf nodded his reluctant agreement to Thorin who was giving out the nights tasks.

"Don't feel bad Gandalf, my country hasn't always made the wisest of choices when electing presidents" said Aimee.

"Do you have any pipe weed I can barrow?" Aimee asked.

"I'm all out."Gandalf handed her his pouch.

"Why are you glad that your election is over?" Gandalf asked her.

"It's when the debates are over" said Aimee, puffing on her pipe.

"The news analysts go on and on about the candidates for hours afterwards. It drives me insane having to watch them argue back and forth over the issues."

"Why not let the people decide on what's important and let them vote. Gandalf nodded his agreement and left for his watch.

A/n" Please leave some of your ideas for missing moments if you review. I like getting your feedback.


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